Despotiko
Encyclopedia
Despotikó older form: -n is a Greek
island
in the Cyclades
.
. Despotiko is situated almost exactly in the center of the Cyclades and during clear days it offers spectacular views towards the surrounding islands of Antiparos
, Syros
, Serifos
, Sifnos
, Kimolos
, Folegandros
, Sikinos
and Ios
(in anticlockwise sense). Administratively, the island is part of the community
of Antiparos
. In our days, the island can be reached only by boats starting from the island of Antiparos. Boats leave either from the main village of Antiparos or from Agios Georgios (southwest Antiparos), just opposite of Despotiko. Usually, the final destination for them, lies on the southern part of the island, where a large sandy beach is located.
However, the strait separating Despotiko from Antiparos has only a minimum depth of about 1 m, with the intervening islet of Koimitiri. This extreme shallowness of the strait suggests the possibility of a link between Antiparos and Despotiko in former times. Indicators of previous sea-levels include archaeological remains on the sea-floor of Despotiko Bay like Early Bronze Age
cist graves off Koimitiri down to 3 m water depths, additionally walls a well-head and an oven of unknown age at 3 m water depth off-shore from Agios Georgios on Antiparos . Numerous parallel trenches occur west of Panagia chapel on Despotiko, which have not been excavated or dated so far, but can be compared with the almost identical, partly submerged, probably Hellenistic viticulture trenches from northeast Antiparos. These submerged archaeological structures, together with a Classical marble inscription from the sanctuary on Despotiko reading ΕΣΤΙΑΣ ΙΣΘΜΙΑΣ, (Hestias Isthmias, which essentially means “for Hestia of the Isthmus”), suggest that the relative sea-level in this area was at least 3 m lower during the Early Bronze Age and still more than 1 m lower during Hellenistic time. This implies that an isthmus may have linked Despotiko, Koimitiri and Antiparos at least until Hellenistic time
.
, as well as the continued use of this area in Classical
, Hellenistic
, Roman
and Frankish
periods. Some of the nicest artifacts from the recent excavations are exhibited in the archaeological museum in Parikia
, tha capital of the nearby island of Paros
, along with other important antiquities from the region. Some glimpses of the early modern and modern history of Despotiko might be reconstructed from historic topographic maps and descriptions of travellers from that period.
habitat, which is part of an ecological network of protected areas in the European Union
. Large areas are covered by phrygana and a garrigue
. The seal Monachus monachus is a permanent resident of the shallow marine area. On the sea floor Posidonia
seagrass meadows provide habitat for a diverse fauna and flora.
s, mainly comprising variable types of gneiss
, schist
, marble
and amphibolite
, and tectonic slices of unmetamorphosed sediment
s on top, separated by low-angle normal faults from the metamorphic units below.
Despotiko is dominated by metamorphic rocks with foliation surfaces dipping quite uniformly towards the southwest at shallow angles. The structurally lowest parts in the north and northeast of the island consist of grey, strongly foliated, mylonitic ortho-gneiss with abundant cross-cutting pegmatite
dikes that become more and more deformed and rotated parallel to the foliation towards the hanging wall. The ortho-gneiss is followed by up to several meters thick, prominent white, strongly foliated, mylonitic gneiss. Higher up are medium-grained, white calcite
marble, followed by greenish-white gneiss and an alternation of chlorite
epidote
schist and thin marble layers, on top of which are found chlorite epidote gneiss and retrogressed amphibolite as well as some small serpentinite
lenses. The structurally highest parts in the south and southwest of the island comprise thick white to yellowish, fine grained dolomite marble with thin layers of dark grey, carbonaceous calcite marble.
This metamorphic succession is penetrated by six early Pliocene, rhyolitic volcanic pipes, with rare occurrences of small obsidian. These volcanic pipes are genetically associated with the rhyolitic, pyroclastic rocks that cover the whole southern part of Antiparos
. Patches of yellowish, porous sandstone, dominated by well rounded, well sorted fragments of marine organism and minor siliciclastic components is found in many places on top of the metamorphic rocks.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
.
Nearest islands and islets
- AntiparosAntiparosAntiparos is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry...
, northeast - Koimitiri, northeast
- StrongyloStrongyloStrongylo , also Strongilo, Stroggylo and Stroggilo , older forms: -on except for the community of Xanthi may refer to several places in Greece:...
, southwest
About Despotiko
The small and dry island is located about 700 m southwest from the shores of AntiparosAntiparos
Antiparos is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry...
. Despotiko is situated almost exactly in the center of the Cyclades and during clear days it offers spectacular views towards the surrounding islands of Antiparos
Antiparos
Antiparos is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry...
, Syros
Syros
Syros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
, Serifos
Serifos
Serifos is a Greek island municipality in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos. It is part of the Milos peripheral unit. The area is 75.207 km² and the population was 1,414 at the 2001 census. It is located about ESE of Piraeus...
, Sifnos
Sifnos
Sifnos is an island municipality in the Cyclades island group in Greece. The main town, near the center, is known as Apollonia home of the island's folklore museum and library. The town's name is thought to come from an ancient temple of Apollo on the site of the church of Panayia Yeraniofora...
, Kimolos
Kimolos
Kimolos is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, belonging to the islands group of Cyclades, located on the SW tip of them, near the bigger island of Milos. It is considered as a middle class, rural island, not included in the tourist hotspots, thus, ferry connection is sometimes of bad quality...
, Folegandros
Folegandros
Folegandros is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea which, together with Sikinos, Ios, Anafi and Santorini, forms the southern part of the Cyclades. Its surface area is about and it has 667 inhabitants....
, Sikinos
Sikinos
Sikinos is a Greek island and municipality in the Cyclades. It is located midway between the islands of Ios and Folegandros. Sikinos is part of the Santorini peripheral unit....
and Ios
Ios (Island)
Ios is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about 18 km long and 10 km wide, with an area of about 109 km² . Population was 1,838 in 2001...
(in anticlockwise sense). Administratively, the island is part of the community
Communities and Municipalities of Greece
For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...
of Antiparos
Antiparos
Antiparos is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry...
. In our days, the island can be reached only by boats starting from the island of Antiparos. Boats leave either from the main village of Antiparos or from Agios Georgios (southwest Antiparos), just opposite of Despotiko. Usually, the final destination for them, lies on the southern part of the island, where a large sandy beach is located.
However, the strait separating Despotiko from Antiparos has only a minimum depth of about 1 m, with the intervening islet of Koimitiri. This extreme shallowness of the strait suggests the possibility of a link between Antiparos and Despotiko in former times. Indicators of previous sea-levels include archaeological remains on the sea-floor of Despotiko Bay like Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
cist graves off Koimitiri down to 3 m water depths, additionally walls a well-head and an oven of unknown age at 3 m water depth off-shore from Agios Georgios on Antiparos . Numerous parallel trenches occur west of Panagia chapel on Despotiko, which have not been excavated or dated so far, but can be compared with the almost identical, partly submerged, probably Hellenistic viticulture trenches from northeast Antiparos. These submerged archaeological structures, together with a Classical marble inscription from the sanctuary on Despotiko reading ΕΣΤΙΑΣ ΙΣΘΜΙΑΣ, (Hestias Isthmias, which essentially means “for Hestia of the Isthmus”), suggest that the relative sea-level in this area was at least 3 m lower during the Early Bronze Age and still more than 1 m lower during Hellenistic time. This implies that an isthmus may have linked Despotiko, Koimitiri and Antiparos at least until Hellenistic time
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
.
Archaeology and History
Although presently uninhabited, there are significant indications that in prehistoric and ancient times the island - due to its central position among the Cyclades and the large Despotiko Bay (between the island and Antiparos) providing safe anchorage - played an important role in maritime communication routes. Currently, excavations are taking place in the northwest part of the island and so far the findings are of great importance. The excavations proved the existence of an important late Archaic sanctuary with abundant objects indicating links to mainland Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean and even to Northern AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, as well as the continued use of this area in Classical
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
, Hellenistic
Hellenistic Greece
In the context of Ancient Greek art, architecture, and culture, Hellenistic Greece corresponds to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek heartlands by Rome in 146 BC...
, Roman
Roman Greece
Roman Greece is the period of Greek history following the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC until the reestablishment of the city of Byzantium and the naming of the city by the Emperor Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire...
and Frankish
Frangokratia
The Frankokratia or Frangokratia , also known as Latinokratia is the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade , when a number of Western European Crusader states were established in Greece, on the territory of the dissolved Byzantine Empire .The term derives from the fact that Orthodox...
periods. Some of the nicest artifacts from the recent excavations are exhibited in the archaeological museum in Parikia
Parikia
Parikia is the capital and the main port of Paros island. It is one of the most typical Cycladic settlements as it is distinguished by its narrow cobbled paths, the old churches, the small shops and the houses in blue and white. Parikia is today one of the most popular and busiest spot of the...
, tha capital of the nearby island of Paros
Paros
Paros is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
, along with other important antiquities from the region. Some glimpses of the early modern and modern history of Despotiko might be reconstructed from historic topographic maps and descriptions of travellers from that period.
Environment, Nature & Biodiversity
Due to low and not permanent human presence as well as moderate pasture pressure, some natural habitat types, typical of the central Cyclades, are very well preserved. Therefore Despotiko, Strongylo and the southernmost part of Antiparos as well as surrounding marine areas have been selected for a NATURA 2000Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
habitat, which is part of an ecological network of protected areas in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Large areas are covered by phrygana and a garrigue
Garrigue
Garrigue or phrygana is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer...
. The seal Monachus monachus is a permanent resident of the shallow marine area. On the sea floor Posidonia
Posidonia
Posidonia is a genus of flowering plants. It contains two to nine species of marine plants , found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia....
seagrass meadows provide habitat for a diverse fauna and flora.
Geology
First comments about the geology of Despotiko originate from Fiedler in 1841, but it took until 1963 that the first geological map has been published. Tectonically, Despotiko, Antiparos and Paros, belong to the Attic-Cycladic Crystalline of the Central Hellenides, a stack of metamorphic tectonic nappeNappe
In geology, a nappe is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or 5 km from its original position. Nappes form during continental plate collisions, when folds are sheared so much that they fold back over on themselves and break apart. The resulting structure is a...
s, mainly comprising variable types of gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
, and tectonic slices of unmetamorphosed sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
s on top, separated by low-angle normal faults from the metamorphic units below.
Despotiko is dominated by metamorphic rocks with foliation surfaces dipping quite uniformly towards the southwest at shallow angles. The structurally lowest parts in the north and northeast of the island consist of grey, strongly foliated, mylonitic ortho-gneiss with abundant cross-cutting pegmatite
Pegmatite
A pegmatite is a very crystalline, intrusive igneous rock composed of interlocking crystals usually larger than 2.5 cm in size; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic....
dikes that become more and more deformed and rotated parallel to the foliation towards the hanging wall. The ortho-gneiss is followed by up to several meters thick, prominent white, strongly foliated, mylonitic gneiss. Higher up are medium-grained, white calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
marble, followed by greenish-white gneiss and an alternation of chlorite
Chlorite
The chlorite ion is ClO2−. A chlorite is a compound that contains this group,with chlorine in oxidation state +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous acid.-Oxidation states:...
epidote
Epidote
Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron sorosilicate mineral, Ca2Al2O, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Well-developed crystals are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in habit, the direction of elongation being perpendicular to the single plane of symmetry. The faces are often...
schist and thin marble layers, on top of which are found chlorite epidote gneiss and retrogressed amphibolite as well as some small serpentinite
Serpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed by serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle...
lenses. The structurally highest parts in the south and southwest of the island comprise thick white to yellowish, fine grained dolomite marble with thin layers of dark grey, carbonaceous calcite marble.
This metamorphic succession is penetrated by six early Pliocene, rhyolitic volcanic pipes, with rare occurrences of small obsidian. These volcanic pipes are genetically associated with the rhyolitic, pyroclastic rocks that cover the whole southern part of Antiparos
Antiparos
Antiparos is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry...
. Patches of yellowish, porous sandstone, dominated by well rounded, well sorted fragments of marine organism and minor siliciclastic components is found in many places on top of the metamorphic rocks.
External links
- Official website of Community of Antiparos (in Greek and English)
- NATURA 2000 habitats in Greece: Islands of Strongylo and Despotiko (in Greek)
- Despotiko on GTP Travel Pages (in English and Greek)
- Street map information from: Mapquest, LiveLocal or Google or Yahoo! Maps
- Satellite images: Google or Microsoft Virtual Earth - image now available
- Coordinates: 38°58′0"N 24°59′15"E